When it comes to smuggling things through the customs, some people are ready to go to ridiculous lengths. But fate didn’t support the young man who was trying to smuggle in gold hidden under his wig through the Cochin International Airport.
It would have been a brilliant idea had he managed to pull it off, but ended up as a hare-brained idea in the final analysis as Customs Air Intelligence Officials managed to see through his design and size of contraband.
Customs officials have had, in the past, detected the yellow metal concealed in body parts varying from feet to rectum. In fact, it often came up during discussions among officials that head was probably the only part left by smugglers to sneak in the contraband.
It would turn out that they would come across such a case on Friday. Naushad, a resident of Malappuram, landed at the airport from Sharjah with 1.13 kg gold concealed in compound form under his wig. He had even shaved off a portion of his hair in an attempt to pull off his faux hair and the gold hidden in it.
Cochin Unit of Customs though, had got a tip-off beforehand and did a thorough verification. Officials suspect the youngster to be a carrier and have launched detailed investigations to trace back the origin of the smuggled gold and where it was meant to be delivered, sources said to the Hindu.
The conversion of gold into compound form to avoid detection is nothing new as it had been allegedly been tried more than once before through almost all airports in the State. Once the carrier manages to deliver it at the destination, the gold is extracted from the compound.
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